GeoLog

Biogeosciences

Conversations on a century of geoscience in Europe: Part 1

August 28, 2019
Conversations on a century of geoscience in Europe: Part 1
Image modified from Robberg Peninsula - a home of seals. Credit: Elizaveta Kovaleva (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

When you think about the last century of geoscience, what comes to mind? Perhaps Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift? Or Inge Lehmann’s discovery of Earth’s solid inner core? Over the last 100 years, geoscientists have made incredible contributions to our understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and beyond. The science community has explored uncharted territory, challenged previously ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Penguins – a biogeochemical link between sea and land

May 6, 2019
Imaggeo on Mondays: Penguins – a biogeochemical link between sea and land
Linking Sea to Land. Credit: Daniel Wasner (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

A couple of Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) at their nesting site on Deception Island, maritime Antarctica. Sea birds contribute importantly to biogeochemical cycles in coastal ecosystems and on islands. Feeding on the marine food chain and nesting on land, they carry large amounts of marine nutrients into terrestrial ecosystems. This might be of particular importance for the nitrogen ( ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Patterns in the peatland

March 4, 2019
Imaggeo on Mondays: Patterns in the peatland
Northern carbon sink. Credit: Mélina Guêné-Nanchen (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

This magnificent pattern is the result of hundreds and hundreds of years of evolution. In this structured minerotrophic peatland in Northern Quebec (Canada), which can also be called a string fen or aapa mire, the green peat ridges (or strings) alternate with water-filled hollows (or flarks). Often flarks are replaced by ponds, which vary in number and size. This pattern of strings and flarks (or ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Using volcanoes to study carbon emissions’ long-term environmental effect

January 17, 2019
Geosciences Column: Using volcanoes to study carbon emissions’ long-term environmental effect
Mammoth Mountain, a lava dome complex in the Sierra Nevada, California. Scientists have been studying the ecosystem's response to the volcano's carbon emissions. Credit: Hike395 distributed via Wikimedia Commons

In a world where carbon dioxide levels are rapidly rising, how do you study the long-term effect of carbon emissions? To answer this question, some scientists have turned to Mammoth Mountain, a volcano in California that’s been releasing carbon dioxide for years. Recently, a team of researchers found that this volcanic ecosystem could give clues to how plants respond to elevated levels of carbon d ...[Read More]